Green IT: Taking Bytes Out of Carbon Emissions

Modern communication technology reduces the need to travel, but it produces as much CO2 as aviation. Struggling to live up to its

How did the Massachusetts Democrat manage to be in two places at once? By sending his virtual self to the tropical paradise via the website Second Life, while his real self stayed in wintry Washington. Choosing the Internet over a plane saved him an estimated 5.36 tons of CO2 emissions.

Such online events, videoconferences, and even the old telephone call could significantly reduce the carbon footprint of businessmen, politicians and other frequent flyers. The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) says that if all European companies replaced 20 percent of business flights with videoconferencing, it would save 22 million tons of CO2 each year.